buildOn Bay Area Dinner Recap
We had a great time at this year’s buildOn Bay Area Dinner, where 500 buildOn supporters came out to the Westin St. Francis to raise money $720,000 for our programs in the Bay Area and school construction projects around the world. Guests included members of our Honorary Committee and buildOn Board Members, as well as notable philanthropists such as Manuela Testolini and her husband, musician Eric Benet.
Diane Dwyer, Weekend Anchor for NBC Bay Area News, hosted the event as our Mistress of Ceremonies and buildOn President and CEO, Jim Ziolkowski, spoke about how buildOn’s programs empower students to graduate through service. Student speaker David “Izzy” Isidoro, a senior at International Studies Academy in San Francisco, shared the story of his transformation from being involved in a gang to finding a purpose in life through his buildOn program. His speech was received with a standing ovation from the 500 guests in attendance. buildOn Vice President, West Coast, Catarina Schwab, proudly presented awards to three buildOn supporters and advocates: the 2013 Honoree Award to TMG Partners; the Local Impact Award to Margaret Chiu, Assistant Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District; and the Chapter Honoree Award to Corinne Lowe, a senior high school student at Sage Ridge School in Reno, Nevada. We are very grateful for all of their continued support!
We previewed Jim’s new book, Walk in Their Shoes, launching on September 17! We also auctioned off a surprise New York package that included two tickets to the Walk in Their Shoes Book Launch Party in the heart of Times Square. To close the evening, we premiered a new video about buildOn’s Ambassador Trek program, featuring testimonials from corporate partner Moss Adams, families and friends who have traveled as groups to participate in our school construction program abroad.
Thank you again to all who attended to help make the 2013 buildOn Bay Area Dinner a success! Take a look at all of the photos from the event here.
